Donald Trump accused "angry mobs" of trying to erase US history by removing statues in a dark and divisive Independence Day speech on Friday evening from Mount Rushmore.
Painting himself as a bulwark against left-wing extremism, the US president barely mentioned the coronavirus pandemic, despite the country that setting a new record for confirmed new cases, as he struggled to correctly pronounce a series of words.
One of those new Covid-19 cases included Donald Trump Jr's girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, who tested positive just a week after attending a party in which guests were reportedly not wearing masks.
Mr Trump's pre-4 July holiday event drew 7,500 people, packed into an outdoor amphitheatre. Many did not wear masks - including the president - defying the advice of health officials who have urged Americans to avoid large gatherings to slow the spread of Covid-19.
Follow all the latest in the live blog below.
Good morning and welcome to The Independent's rolling coverage of US politics and Donald Trump following an Independence Day speech by the US president littered with divisive rhetoric and dark, largely fictitious warnings, about the future of the country.
Trump heightens law-and-order threats in dark and divisive Mount Rushmore speech
Donald Trump has heightened his law-and-order threats against Americans demonstrating against racial injustice, a movement that he called “a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children”, writes The Independent's Alex Woodward
The president's remarks, invoking his dark vision of an America under siege, were addressed to a crowd of several thousand people at Mount Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota to mark Independence Day.
Dozens of Native American protesters who have condemned the president's appearance at the sacred Sioux Nation site had attempted to block a road to the event. National Guard troops fired pepper spray at several protesters, and a dozen people were arrested moments before the president arrived.
Read more:
Donald Trump has heightened his law-and-order threats against Americans demonstrating against racial injustice, a movement that he called “a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children”, writes The Independent's Alex Woodward
The president's remarks, invoking his dark vision of an America under siege, were addressed to a crowd of several thousand people at Mount Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota to mark Independence Day.
Dozens of Native American protesters who have condemned the president's appearance at the sacred Sioux Nation site had attempted to block a road to the event. National Guard troops fired pepper spray at several protesters, and a dozen people were arrested moments before the president arrived.
Read more:
Donald Trump Jr's girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle tests positive for coronavirus
Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr's girlfriend, has tested positive for coronavirus, according to reports.
Ms Guilfoyle was reportedly tested in South Dakota before she was due to attend an Independence Day event at Mount Rushmore with Donald Trump.
Donald Jr reportedly tested negative. Ms Guilfoyle is not thought to have had contact with the president ahead of her test.
Read more:
Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr's girlfriend, has tested positive for coronavirus, according to reports.
Ms Guilfoyle was reportedly tested in South Dakota before she was due to attend an Independence Day event at Mount Rushmore with Donald Trump.
Donald Jr reportedly tested negative. Ms Guilfoyle is not thought to have had contact with the president ahead of her test.
Read more:
Not yet mentioned in our story below Donald Trump Jr's girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, contracting coronavirus, is the revelation the couple quietly attended a party last weekend in which guests reportedly failed to wear masks.
Gossip website Page Six alleges they joined about 100 partygoers in the Hamptons last Saturday, for an event that looked "as if Covid had never happened".
Gossip website Page Six alleges they joined about 100 partygoers in the Hamptons last Saturday, for an event that looked "as if Covid had never happened".
Amid all the dark omens and divisive culture war rhetoric, Donald Trump's Independence Day speech from Mount Rushmore featured a number of odd slips by the US president.
Here are just a few:
Here are just a few:
White House trade adviser suggests without evidence that China deliberately spread coronavirus
Donald Trump’s top trade adviser has suggested China deliberately allowed hundreds of thousands of people infected with coronavirus to leave the country “to seed and spread the virus” abroad.
Peter Navarro’s remarks follow the White House’s accelerated rhetoric against China, where the virus is believed to have originated, as the crisis in the US grows nearly four months after a pandemic was declared.
As the US approached its Fourth of July holiday weekend, more than a dozen states saw record numbers of new cases. Cases reached more than 50,000 for a third day in a row.
Read more:
Donald Trump’s top trade adviser has suggested China deliberately allowed hundreds of thousands of people infected with coronavirus to leave the country “to seed and spread the virus” abroad.
Peter Navarro’s remarks follow the White House’s accelerated rhetoric against China, where the virus is believed to have originated, as the crisis in the US grows nearly four months after a pandemic was declared.
As the US approached its Fourth of July holiday weekend, more than a dozen states saw record numbers of new cases. Cases reached more than 50,000 for a third day in a row.
Read more:
New election ad compares Trump to infamous US traitor
Veterans’ group VoteVets has released a new attack ad that criticises president Donald Trump over reports that he was briefed about Russia putting bounties on American military personnel in Afghanistan and failed to act.
The group, whose Twitter description states “blocked by Donald Trump”, has compared the president to Benedict Arnold, who infamously defected from the US Continental Army to the British side in the Revolutionary War.
VoteVets published the video to Twitter on 3 July, the day before the US’s Independence Day, an annual celebration of the country’s Declaration of Independence from Britain.
Read more:
Veterans’ group VoteVets has released a new attack ad that criticises president Donald Trump over reports that he was briefed about Russia putting bounties on American military personnel in Afghanistan and failed to act.
The group, whose Twitter description states “blocked by Donald Trump”, has compared the president to Benedict Arnold, who infamously defected from the US Continental Army to the British side in the Revolutionary War.
VoteVets published the video to Twitter on 3 July, the day before the US’s Independence Day, an annual celebration of the country’s Declaration of Independence from Britain.
Read more:
Neil Young angered after Trump uses artist's songs during Mount Rushmore event
Donald Trump has angered Neil Young by using three of his songs during his controversial speech Mount Rushmore on Friday.
Donald Trump has angered Neil Young by using three of his songs during his controversial speech Mount Rushmore on Friday.
The musician also said he “stands in solidarity” with Lakota Sioux, who have long claimed the land as their own.
Despite protests breaking out ahead of the president’s arrival, he proceeded with the Independence Day event and used Young’s songs “Rockin’ in the Free World” and ”Like a Hurricane”.
Despite protests breaking out ahead of the president’s arrival, he proceeded with the Independence Day event and used Young’s songs “Rockin’ in the Free World” and ”Like a Hurricane”.
Women hit by car during protests on freeway
Two women were struck by a car whose driver sped through a protest-related closure on a freeway, authorities said early on Saturday.
One suffered life-threatening injuries and the other had serious injuries, Washington State Patrol spokesperson Trooper Rick Johnson tweeted. The Seattle Fire Department tweeted that the injured women appeared to be in their 20s.
“A vehicle drove through the closure and struck multiple pedestrians on the freeway,” Johnson tweeted shortly after 2 a.m. Just before midnight, he had tweeted that portions of Interstate 5 were closed because of protests.
The vehicle was stopped and the driver was in custody, Mr Johnson tweeted.
Video on social media showed a white car traveling at a high rate of speed navigate around two vehicles positioned across the lanes as a barrier. The car careened toward a handful of protesters on the freeway, striking two people who flew into the air before landing on the ground.
Associated Press
Two women were struck by a car whose driver sped through a protest-related closure on a freeway, authorities said early on Saturday.
One suffered life-threatening injuries and the other had serious injuries, Washington State Patrol spokesperson Trooper Rick Johnson tweeted. The Seattle Fire Department tweeted that the injured women appeared to be in their 20s.
“A vehicle drove through the closure and struck multiple pedestrians on the freeway,” Johnson tweeted shortly after 2 a.m. Just before midnight, he had tweeted that portions of Interstate 5 were closed because of protests.
The vehicle was stopped and the driver was in custody, Mr Johnson tweeted.
Video on social media showed a white car traveling at a high rate of speed navigate around two vehicles positioned across the lanes as a barrier. The car careened toward a handful of protesters on the freeway, striking two people who flew into the air before landing on the ground.
Associated Press
David Frum, President George W Bush's former speechwriter and a prominent Trump critic, has commented on the US president's speech from Mount Rushmore last night.
He says Mr Trump has "zero interest" in memorials and is only concerned about riling up his base ahead of the US election in November.
NBC News' White House correspondent, Geoff Bennett, has provided a useful summary of Donald Trump's Mount Rushmore address, as well as the news Donald Trump Jr's girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle has tested positive for coronavirus.
The Lincoln Project, a group of anti-Trump Republicans, have already taken advantage of Donald Trump's mangling of the word "totalitarianism" during his Mount Rushmore speech last night.
Shooting in Alabama mall kills four people, including child
An eight-year-old boy was killed on Friday in a shooting at an Alabama shopping mall that left three other people injured, police have said.
Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said the child was killed in the afternoon shooting at the Riverchase Galleria. The police chief said a girl and two adults were also hospitalised after the shooting. Authorities did not release the victims' names.
Police did not give a motive for the shooting. Mr Derzis said police are working promising leads, but did not say if they had identified suspects.
Read more:
An eight-year-old boy was killed on Friday in a shooting at an Alabama shopping mall that left three other people injured, police have said.
Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said the child was killed in the afternoon shooting at the Riverchase Galleria. The police chief said a girl and two adults were also hospitalised after the shooting. Authorities did not release the victims' names.
Police did not give a motive for the shooting. Mr Derzis said police are working promising leads, but did not say if they had identified suspects.
Read more:
North Korea says no plans to resume nuclear talks with US
North Korea on Saturday reiterated it has no immediate plans to resume nuclear negotiations with the US unless Washington discards what it describes as “hostile” polices toward Pyongyang.
The statement by North Korean first vice foreign minister Choe Son Hui came after Donald Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, told reporters in New York Thursday Mr Trump might seek another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as an “October surprise” ahead of the US presidential election.
South Korean president Moon Jae-in, who had lobbied hard to help set up the now-stalled negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang, also expressed hope that Mr Trump and Mr Kim would meet again before the election in a video conference with European leaders on Tuesday.
Mr Kim and Mr Trump have met three times since embarking on their high-stakes nuclear diplomacy in 2018, but negotiations have faltered since their second summit in February last year in Vietnam, where the Americans rejected North Korean demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of its nuclear capability.
Associated Press
North Korea on Saturday reiterated it has no immediate plans to resume nuclear negotiations with the US unless Washington discards what it describes as “hostile” polices toward Pyongyang.
The statement by North Korean first vice foreign minister Choe Son Hui came after Donald Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, told reporters in New York Thursday Mr Trump might seek another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as an “October surprise” ahead of the US presidential election.
South Korean president Moon Jae-in, who had lobbied hard to help set up the now-stalled negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang, also expressed hope that Mr Trump and Mr Kim would meet again before the election in a video conference with European leaders on Tuesday.
Mr Kim and Mr Trump have met three times since embarking on their high-stakes nuclear diplomacy in 2018, but negotiations have faltered since their second summit in February last year in Vietnam, where the Americans rejected North Korean demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of its nuclear capability.
Associated Press
Former CIA director says Trump has gone 'Awol' over coronavirus
Donald Trump has gone “Awol” in his leadership of the US through the coronavirus pandemic, former CIA Director and Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said in a scathing attack on the president.
“This president has essentially gone Awol from the job of leadership that he should be providing a country in trouble,” Mr Panneta told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday, branding the situation a “major crisis”.
“But the president, rather than bringing together some kind of national strategy to confront this crisis, simply resorts to tweeting about vandalism and other things to kind of divert attention from the crisis that’s there,” Mr Panetta added.
Read more:
Donald Trump has gone “Awol” in his leadership of the US through the coronavirus pandemic, former CIA Director and Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said in a scathing attack on the president.
“This president has essentially gone Awol from the job of leadership that he should be providing a country in trouble,” Mr Panneta told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday, branding the situation a “major crisis”.
“But the president, rather than bringing together some kind of national strategy to confront this crisis, simply resorts to tweeting about vandalism and other things to kind of divert attention from the crisis that’s there,” Mr Panetta added.
Read more:
Number of US prisoners who have contracted coronavirus passes 50,000 mark
The number of US prisoners who have tested positive for coronavirus, now totals more than 50,000.
At least 52,649 prisoners had tested positive for coronavirus by the end of June, which represented an eight per cent rise from the week before, according to data from nonprofit news organisation, the Marshall Project, and the Associated Press.
Of the 52,649 prisoners, at least 35,796 have recovered from the virus, while 616 have died.
Read more:
The number of US prisoners who have tested positive for coronavirus, now totals more than 50,000.
At least 52,649 prisoners had tested positive for coronavirus by the end of June, which represented an eight per cent rise from the week before, according to data from nonprofit news organisation, the Marshall Project, and the Associated Press.
Of the 52,649 prisoners, at least 35,796 have recovered from the virus, while 616 have died.
Read more:
After Donald Trump mentioned Frank Sinatra in his Mount Rushmore speech, the singer's former wife, Mia Farrow has taken to Twitter to say he would have "loathed" the US president.
Nancy Sinatra, the singer's eldest daughter, has confirmed he apparently really did.
Nancy Sinatra, the singer's eldest daughter, has confirmed he apparently really did.
The claim is backed up by a 2017 book:
On Friday it was revealed Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr's girlfriend, had contracted coronavirus. The day before, she attended an indoor event in South Dakota in which almost everyone failed to wear masks.
Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Russia, has accused Donald Trump of the "most un-American speech ever delivered by an American president" following the divisive event at Mount Rushmore last night.
Three officers sacked over photos of 'chokehold' used on Elijah McClain
Three officers were fired on Friday over photos showing police reenact a chokehold used on Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old black man who died last year after police stopped him on the street in a Denver suburb.
One of those fired is Jason Rosenblatt, a white Aurora officer who helped stop Mr McClain in August for wearing a ski mask and “being suspicious”. Police put Mr McClain in a chokehold, paramedics injected him with a sedative and Mr McClain suffered cardiac arrest before later being taken off life support.
Aurora's interim police chief, Vanessa Wilson, told reporters that officers sent the photos to Mr Rosenblatt and others two months after Mr McClain died to “cheer up a friend”, without explaining who that was. Mr Rosenblatt responded with a text saying, “Haha”. Officer Nathan Woodyard, who put Mr McClain in a chokehold, also got the photos but he was not disciplined because he didn't respond.
Read more:
Three officers were fired on Friday over photos showing police reenact a chokehold used on Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old black man who died last year after police stopped him on the street in a Denver suburb.
One of those fired is Jason Rosenblatt, a white Aurora officer who helped stop Mr McClain in August for wearing a ski mask and “being suspicious”. Police put Mr McClain in a chokehold, paramedics injected him with a sedative and Mr McClain suffered cardiac arrest before later being taken off life support.
Aurora's interim police chief, Vanessa Wilson, told reporters that officers sent the photos to Mr Rosenblatt and others two months after Mr McClain died to “cheer up a friend”, without explaining who that was. Mr Rosenblatt responded with a text saying, “Haha”. Officer Nathan Woodyard, who put Mr McClain in a chokehold, also got the photos but he was not disciplined because he didn't respond.
Read more:
Please allow the blog a moment to load
